Public Hearing Transcripts Restored for 2019

HARTFORD,
CT — After eliminating funding for the transcription of public hearings in May
legislative leaders have reversed course and restored the money to continue the
practice.

Prior
to the election in November the two parties were deadlocked on what should be
cut from the legislative budget in order to save an estimated $100,000 that’s
typically spent on public hearing transcripts.

None
of the legislative leaders would comment directly on the decision, but staff
said that the service would continue in 2019.

Jim
Tamburro, executive director of the Office of Policy and Management, said the
transcription service cost in 2018 was $72,000 compared to the $177,000 spent
in 2017 due to the length of the session.

Tamburro
said the costs would be absorbed within the Legislative Management budget, but
it will complicate things.

“This
will have a negative impact on discretionary expenditures and limit our ability
to lapse funds mandated by the bipartisan budget agreement,” Tamburro said.

The
restoration was an early Christmas gift for open government advocates who urged
lawmakers not the eliminate the service.

“Public
hearings are a vital part of the legislative process, and having transcripts
both improves transparency and preserves records,” Michael Savino, president of
the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information, said. “We’re glad to see
that legislative leaders have also recognized their value by restoring the
funds to continue producing these important documents.”

Advocates
like Savino have said that the state library identified 750 court decisions
that have cited public hearing transcripts.

Before
the deal to fully restore them was reached, in lieu of a written transcript,
which is searchable, the Office of Legislative Management had planned to offer
an audio recording of a hearing upon request.

Kathy
Flaherty, executive director of the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, has said
an audio recording alone also may not comply with the Americans with
Disabilities Act.

Some
would argue that everyone who testifies is asked to submit written testimony,
which is then published online.

But
advocates argue that “filed written testimony is not a satisfactory substitute
for transcripts. It omits the question-and-answer exchanges that may be
critical to legislative history.

Actual
witness testimony sometimes varies significantly from written testimony.
Committees often ask witnesses not to read their testimony but to tell them
what is most important.”
The breadth of the coalition of advocates trying
to save them should “demonstrate the value of these records in ensuring both
transparency and a full understanding of legislative history, “ Savino has
said.

This story first appeared
on CTNewsJunkie.com on December 21, 2018. Christine Stuart is a CFOG board
member.

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